1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a straw holder for vertically supporting and orienting a drinking straw in the mouth of a bottle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Consumers of beverages under some circumstances may prefer to drink directly from a bottle through a straw. While driving a car, for example, bottled liquid is less subject to spillage, but tipping up the bottle for a drink interrupts a driver's view of the road. Use of a straw with a bottle addresses both the spillage and safety issues, but presents a problem when a too-short straw falls into a too-long bottle. In addition, carbon dioxide bubbles from a carbonated beverage may accumulate on the straw and cause it to rise out of the bottle. It would, therefore, be desirable to support the straw vertically in the bottle so that it cannot fall in or rise out. At the same time, it would be desirable to stabilize the angular position of the straw so that it cannot rotate within the mouth of the bottle. A device addressing this problem could also be used by invalids who may not have full use of their hands.
The problem of stabilizing a straw with respect to the lip of a cup is addressed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,493, which discloses a straw holder cut from a sheet material such as paper. The holder includes a retaining portion having an aperture which receives a standard drinking straw therethrough, and a pair of wings having ends which are clipped together and fitted against the outside of the cup.
The problem of stabilizing the position of a straw in a bottle by means of a simple fabricated device does not appear to have been solved. U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,156 discloses a drinking straw formed with an intake portion received in a bottle, a helical portion fitted around the neck of the bottle, and an outlet to which suction is applied by a consumer. The object is to stabilize the position of a straw for use by small children, but the circuitous path of the straw requires considerable effort to draw liquid. Further, the specially formed straw is a three dimensional object which is relatively expensive to manufacture and inconvenient to store and transport in any quantity. As such it is not suitable for use as a “give-away” item with a bottled beverage.
Other prior art describes straw holders for positioning a straw with respect to the lip of a cup. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,070,495 and 5,823,493. The latter discloses a straw holder which can be cut from a sheet material and relies on the straw itself to position the holder on the cup.